Golf putter having aligning indicia thereon



Feb. 12, 1957 w.R.w1| EY 2,781,197

GOLF` PUTTER HAVING ALIGNING INDICIA THEREON Filed June 19, 1952 Used im GoLF rUrTEu HAviNG vA1;IGNIG TnnREoN INI'CIA This invention relates to a ynovel golf putter and this application is a continuation-impart of applicantsfcopending ,application for improvement in Golf Putter, Serial No. 138,772, led January 16, 1950, now abandoned.

It will be appreciated by those who play the game of ,golf that in the putting of a golf ball intothe conventional cup or hole in a green, it is often dipicult to properly align the striking face of the putter Vsofas to insure YVthat the path of travel of the golf ball will be on a line with the cup in the green. The United States Golf Association standards provide that the head of a golf club must be wider than it is deep, so that in eect the striking face must be wider than the head is deep. A head of this type makes the proper alignment of the striking face substantially harder to obtain than if the head were deeper than it was wide, because it is necessary to align the striking face with a line perpendicular to the desired path of travel of the ball, rather than with the desired path or line of travel. This difficulty has been overcome with the golf putter of this invention, which putter still meets the standards of the United States Golf Association, by providing novel indicia means on the putter head.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a golf putter -head which is wider than it is deep, but which provided with novel indicia means so that when the putter is used the normal aligning problems are materially reduced and substantial aid to the user is provided for properly aligning the putter head striking face with respect to the golf ball and the desired path of travel of the ball toward the cup in the green.

it is a still further object of this invention vto provide a golf putter head in which the indicia element is pro-V vided on tie upper surface thereof, and is of a contrast-V ing color with respect to the adjacent portions of the putter head, so that the users eyes will be attracted to the indicia rather than to the putter head, and which is so shaped as to permit the user to position the striking face of the putter head in the proper location with respect to the golf ball and the desired path of travel thereof.

lt is a still further object of this invention to provide a putter head of the aforementioned type, which is attractive in appearance, inexpensive to manufacture, durable and eiicient in use.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken ink conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a plan view of the golf putter head of this invention, and adjacent golf putter shaft portion, properly aligned with a golf ball;

Fig. 2 is a ront elevational view of therstructure illustrated in Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View of the structure illustrated in Fig. 2, taken along the line 3-3 thereof; and

Fig. 4 is an exploded view of the component pants of the golf putter head.

VReferring now to the drawing, it will be seen that `the golf putter includes a putter head 5, a putter shaft 7, the

.2,781,197 patented Feb. 12, 1957 2 upperl end of which has a handle (not shown) formed on or connected therewith, ,andthe lower end of which extends intoa generally vertical socket portion 9 [projectingrupwardly from the. putter head adjacentone end thereof. The shaftr7 isconnected with the putter head by any suitable means suohas a pinL While the putter head may be madeof variousmaterials, lit is preferably made of a suitable plastiomaterialwhich may be molded and it V,comprises anne-piece hollow `body portion 13, which includesithe integral socket portion 9,. The body portion 13 has anjarcuately vcurved back face or wall 15 kand an opening 17 `at, the frontthereof. The body portion 13 is hollow and has its, hollow iinterior divided in half into pockets 18 by a partition 19 which extends vertically between the top andbottom walls of the body. and is disposed rearwardlyof the. opening 17 in the front wall.

Weights 21.are disposedin the hollow pockets 18 on each side of thepartition. While the weights may be made of any suitablerma'terial so4 as .toproperlyweight the club for a desired user, they are illustrated as being lead weights which areshaped tocompletelyiiil each ofthe pockets ,18 and, have-their front faces23 in alignment with the front edge orpface of the partition 1.9. Y

The opening 17 in the front of.f the putter head is closed by; meansV of., a plastic,platej25 which ,iscomplementally shaped to tit in the opening and abut the front face of the weights 23 and partition 19. The plastic plate 25 is preferably slightly larger than the opening 17, so that it must be wedged therein. Prior to the wedging operation the edges of plate 25 are preferably coated with acetone or some other suitable solvent, which will bond the plate to the plastic body 13. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the plate 25 weights 21 and the plastic body 13 can all be molded and then readily assembled with each other, to provide a golf putter head, which is properly weighted .and in which the plastic plate 25 engages the weights and body partition to form the striking face of the putter head and securely closeV the opening in the front of the putter head.

The distance from yone end of the striking face 25 to the other end thereof, or from the heel to the toe of the putter head, is greater than the distance from the striking face to the back face of the putter head so as to conform to the lstandards of the United States Golf Association. Molded on the upper surface of the head 13 as an integral part thereof, is a raised indicia portion 29. The indicia portion 29 extends rearwardly from the front or striking face 25 of the putter head to the back face thereof and is slightly longer than it is wide. The front end portion of the indicia 29 is arcuately curved at 31 so as to provide a concave line or face disposed on substantially the same arc as the periphery of a conventional A golf ball 33, so that when the user looks down on the top of the putter head and golf ball, the arcuate line or face 31 will substantially blend with the contour of the golf ball. The rear portion of the indicia is narrower than the front portion thereof so that the opposite sides or edges 35 of the indicia are rearwardly converging. The front end portion Vof the indicia is slightly narrower than the diameter of the golf ball but is properly proportioned with respect to the golf ball so that if the side edges 3S were extended forwardly of the head they would be substantially the width of the golf ball at the point of intersection therewith. Thus it may be said that the front end portion of the indicia is substantially the same width as lthe diameter of the golf ball.

- The putter head body 13 Vis preferably painted or molded a relatively dark color, while the indicia portion is painted or molded a light color suchas white, so as to contrast sharply with the remainder of the body and so as to correspond with the color of an ordinary golf ball. Therefore, as the indicia contrasts with the color the same color as a golf ball and Yas the front portion thereof is substantially the same width as the golf ball, there is a natural tendency for the user of the putter to match Ythe golf ball and putter head indicia togetherfor sighting purposes and for the purpose of positioning the putter head so that the ball is in vthe center of the putter striking face 25. There is alsota natural tendency on the part of the user to bring the golf ball and putter Yhead indicia together again in making .the putting stroke, so as to aid in maintaining the swing of the putter head along a desired line or path of travel. It is thus far easier to accurately putt with the club of. this invention, due to the axial alignment of the indicia with the line of travel of the ball, than Vwith a conventional putter where the user must guess as to Whether or not the putter striking face is placed at exactly right angles to the path of travel of the ball.

It will furthermore be appreciated that the rearward convergence of the indicia element makes accurate alignment and putting with the putter of this invention easier than would be the case if the Vindicia were not tapered or convergent in the manner den'ed. While the indicia does not converge to a center point, it does approach such a point and the convergence is suicient to give the proper aligning characteristics to the user and to permit the easy aligning necessary for accurate putting.

What is claimed is: v Y

A golf club including a head having a striking face, and

2,781,197 ,Y e f means on the upper portion of said head of a different color than the adjacent portion of said head and extending rearwardly from said striking face to provide an indicia, the frontend portion of said indicia adjacent said striking face being arcuately curved and of substantially the same width as a golf ball so as to substantially blend into the contour of the golf ball when placed adjacent thereto, the sides of said indicia being rearwardly convergent so that the rear portion of said indicia is narrower than the portion' thereof adjacent the striking face.

References Cited in the le of this patent `UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,420,946 Rodwell .lune 27V, 1922 1,433,150 Reach Oct. 24, 1922 1,485,685 McMahon Mar. 4, 1924 1,666,174 Holland Apr. 17, 1928 1,678,637 Drevitson July 3l, 1928 1,678,750 Swan Q ..-July 31, 1928 1,975,341 Young May 16, 1932 1,968,092 Oldham July 31, 1934 2,460,435 Schaffer Feb.V l, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 204,652 Great Britain Oct. 4, 1923 320,074 Great Britain Oct. 3, 1929 324,501 Great Britain July 370, 1930 

